"80 Per Cent Issues Resolved": Fadnavis On Seat-Sharing With Shinde Sena And Ajit Pawar's NCP, Keeps Gates Open For MNS

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that positive discussions were held in Delhi regarding seat-sharing among Mahayuti parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

For Maharashtra, he said, "80 per cent of the issues have been resolved. Discussions are underway on the remaining 20 per cent of issues. I am confident that we will resolve all issues and form a good alliance."

On the question of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) being an ally for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Fadnavis said that they are aligned on ideological issues but discussions on elections are underway.

"MNS has spoken about Hindutva, besides 'Marathi manush'. So, there is not much difference between the stand of MNS and BJP. As far as elections are concerned, it is a matter of discussion," Fadnavis said.

This comes after a seat-sharing between BJP, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) could not be finalised despite deliberations with Amit Shah.

The three parties are expected to meet again on 11 March as a senior NCP leader told Indian Express, “There was no final decision in Friday’s meeting. We will be meeting again in two to three days."

Earlier, it was reported that the BJP can contest 32 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, while Shiv Sena and NCP will contest 11-12 seats and four-five seats respectively.

Earlier, Shinde's Shiv Sena wanted to contest all 18 seats that the undivided Shiv Sena won in the 2019 elections, while Ajit's NCP was pressing for 10 seats. Currently, Shinde Sena has 12 MPs, while Ajit's NCP only has one.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP contested in alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena on 25 seats and won 23 of them. With now plans to contest 32 seats, the party seems to have increased its stature in the state.